Today, I have signed into law H.R. 2115, the "Vision 100 -- Century
of Aviation Reauthorization Act." The Act is designed to strengthen
America's aviation sector, provide needed authority to the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), and enhance the safety of the traveling
public.

Subtitle A of title II of the Act amends section 106 of title 49 of
the United States Code to abolish the Air Traffic Services Subcommittee
of the Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council and creates,
separate from the Council, an Air Traffic Services Committee (ATSC).
Section 106 as amended vests in the ATSC substantial governmental
authority, including the power to approve the FAA's strategic plan for
the air traffic control system, certain large procurements, appointment
and pay of the FAA Chief Operating Officer, FAA major reorganizations,
and the FAA cost accounting and financial management structure. Under
section 106(p)(6)(C), as amended, the members of the abolished Air
Traffic Services Subcommittee of the Council automatically become the
members of the ATSC, but only to "serve in an advisory capacity," with
the ATSC beginning to exercise non-advisory authority when the ATSC
members have been appointed by the President by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate. Accordingly, in light of section 106(p)(6)(C),
the executive branch shall construe the provisions of section 106(p)
and 106(r) that refer to approval or other non-advisory functions of
the ATSC to require, from the date of enactment of the Act through the
date on which the last Senate-confirmed Presidential appointment is
made to the ATSC, only notice to the ATSC and an opportunity for the
ATSC to express its views.

Section 106(p)(7)(B)(iii) of title 49, as enacted by section 202 of
the bill, purports to limit the qualifications of the pool of persons
from whom the President may select ATSC members in a manner that rules
out a large portion of those persons best qualified by experience and
knowledge to fill the office. Congressional participation in such
appointments is limited by the Appointments Clause of the Constitution
to the Senate's provision of advice and consent with respect to
Presidential nominees. The executive branch shall construe the
provisions concerning qualifications in section 106(p)(7)(B)(iii) as
advisory, as is consistent with the Appointments Clause.

Section 47171 of title 49, as enacted by section 304(a) of the Act,
purports to mandate the process for cooperation among agencies in the
executive branch in conducting environ-mental reviews for certain
airport projects. In particular, section 47171(i) purports to require
one part of the executive branch to report to committees of Congress
when a second part of the executive branch has not met the first part's
deadlines for action on certain environmental reviews, and then
requires the second part to explain to the committees why it did not
meet the deadline and what actions it intends to take to complete the
relevant matter. The executive branch shall implement section 47171 in
a manner and to the extent consistent with the President's
constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch.

The executive branch shall construe and implement section 323(b)(2)
of the Act, relating to certain disputes, in a manner consistent with
the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary
executive branch.

The executive branch shall construe the provisions of section
411(i) of the Act, concerning the provision of executive branch
information and records to the National Commission on Small Community
Air Service, in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional
authority to withhold information the disclosure of which could impair
the foreign relations, the national security, the deliberative
processes of the Executive, or the performance of the Executive's
constitutional duties.

The executive branch shall construe and implement section 46111 of
title 49, as enacted by section 601(a) of the Act, relating to access
to and use of classified information, in a manner consistent with the
President's constitutional authority to classify and control access to
information bearing on the national security.

The executive branch shall implement sections 702 and 703 of the
Act, which relate to the award of certain government scholarships, in a
manner consistent with the equal protection requirements of the Due
Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

Section 44511(f) of title 49, as enacted by section 712 of the Act,
requires the Secretary of Transportation to appoint "an independent
governing board" for a 4-year airport cooperative research pilot
program. The executive branch shall construe the reference to the
board as "independent" to mean independence within the Department of
Transportation from the FAA, while the board remains subject to the
statutory authority of the Secretary as the head of the Department and
the President's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary
executive branch. Moreover, the executive branch shall construe the
provisions for nomination of candidates for the board by particular
officials or organiza-tions as advisory, as is consistent with the
Appointments Clause of the Constitution.

The executive branch shall construe as advisory the provisions of
section 812(a) of the Act that purport to direct or burden the conduct
of negotiations by the executive branch with foreign governments,
international organizations, or other entities abroad. Such
provisions, if construed as mandatory rather than advisory, would
impermissibly interfere with the President's constitutional authority
to conduct the Nation's foreign affairs, participate in international
negotiations, and supervise the unitary executive branch.